National Conference of Democratic Mayors

Now we need the Congress to do the same. For the sake of our economy they must take action to reduce our nation’s deficit and get our fiscal house in order.

• President Obama has been clear about the fact that now is the time to lead, to put aside the typical Washington posturing and achieve a compromise that solves this challenge for the American people.
• The President believes that achieving a solution to America’s fiscal challenges is an economic necessity, and the only way to achieve a real solution is with shared sacrifice.
• That means taking a balanced approach that calls on the wealthiest Americans and special interests to pay their share, and the President believes that the American people agree with such an approach. We need to do away with tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, for oil companies making record profits, for hedge fund managers paying lower taxes than teachers and fire fighters, and for corporate jet owners who receive special tax breaks that commercial airlines just don’t get. Those tax breaks aren’t helping to grow America’s economy, and we need to end them if we want to get serious about America’s deficits.
• President Obama is open to making hard decisions and tough choices – now it’s time for members from both sides of the aisle to do the same. The President has expressed a willingness to make the tough choices when it comes to entitlement reform. That is why he put together a framework to make Medicare and Medicaid more efficient and stronger in the long run without shifting the cost of care onto our seniors or people with disabilities.
• The President also supports finding bipartisan solutions to strengthen for future generations the Social Security program.
• President Obama believes that now is the time to show the American people that Washington can rise above cynicism and do big things for the future of the country.

It’s unacceptable to keep kicking the can down the road – that’s what caused these problems in the first place.  We must find balanced solutions that include shared sacrifice to make sure our government lives within its means and puts our economy in a better position for the future.  A deal has to be struck before August 2^nd so that America does not default on its obligations. Never before has America defaulted on its obligations, and to do so now would be catastrophic to our cities, our economy and our financial system.

 If we default on our obligations it will:

• Force the government to stop, limit, or delay payments on a variety of legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for the military, tax refunds, and interest on the national debt.
• Cause interest rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards to rise.
• Hurt families who have been saving money into their 401(k)s for their retirement or putting aside money for their children’s education.

Now we need the Congress to do the same. For the sake of our economy they must take action to reduce our nation’s deficit and get our fiscal house in order.

• President Obama has been clear about the fact that now is the time to lead, to put aside the typical Washington posturing and achieve a compromise that solves this challenge for the American people.
• The President believes that achieving a solution to America’s fiscal challenges is an economic necessity, and the only way to achieve a real solution is with shared sacrifice.
• That means taking a balanced approach that calls on the wealthiest Americans and special interests to pay their share, and the President believes that the American people agree with such an approach. We need to do away with tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, for oil companies making record profits, for hedge fund managers paying lower taxes than teachers and fire fighters, and for corporate jet owners who receive special tax breaks that commercial airlines just don’t get. Those tax breaks aren’t helping to grow America’s economy, and we need to end them if we want to get serious about America’s deficits.
• President Obama is open to making hard decisions and tough choices – now it’s time for members from both sides of the aisle to do the same. The President has expressed a willingness to make the tough choices when it comes to entitlement reform. That is why he put together a framework to make Medicare and Medicaid more efficient and stronger in the long run without shifting the cost of care onto our seniors or people with disabilities.
• The President also supports finding bipartisan solutions to strengthen for future generations the Social Security program.
• President Obama believes that now is the time to show the American people that Washington can rise above cynicism and do big things for the future of the country.

It’s unacceptable to keep kicking the can down the road – that’s what caused these problems in the first place.  We must find balanced solutions that include shared sacrifice to make sure our government lives within its means and puts our economy in a better position for the future.  A deal has to be struck before August 2^nd so that America does not default on its obligations. Never before has America defaulted on its obligations, and to do so now would be catastrophic to our cities, our economy and our financial system.

 If we default on our obligations it will:

• Force the government to stop, limit, or delay payments on a variety of legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for the military, tax refunds, and interest on the national debt.
• Cause interest rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards to rise.
• Hurt families who have been saving money into their 401(k)s for their retirement or putting aside money for their children’s education.

Now we need the Congress to do the same. For the sake of our economy they must take action to reduce our nation’s deficit and get our fiscal house in order.

• President Obama has been clear about the fact that now is the time to lead, to put aside the typical Washington posturing and achieve a compromise that solves this challenge for the American people.
• The President believes that achieving a solution to America’s fiscal challenges is an economic necessity, and the only way to achieve a real solution is with shared sacrifice.
• That means taking a balanced approach that calls on the wealthiest Americans and special interests to pay their share, and the President believes that the American people agree with such an approach. We need to do away with tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, for oil companies making record profits, for hedge fund managers paying lower taxes than teachers and fire fighters, and for corporate jet owners who receive special tax breaks that commercial airlines just don’t get. Those tax breaks aren’t helping to grow America’s economy, and we need to end them if we want to get serious about America’s deficits.
• President Obama is open to making hard decisions and tough choices – now it’s time for members from both sides of the aisle to do the same. The President has expressed a willingness to make the tough choices when it comes to entitlement reform. That is why he put together a framework to make Medicare and Medicaid more efficient and stronger in the long run without shifting the cost of care onto our seniors or people with disabilities.
• The President also supports finding bipartisan solutions to strengthen for future generations the Social Security program.
• President Obama believes that now is the time to show the American people that Washington can rise above cynicism and do big things for the future of the country.

It’s unacceptable to keep kicking the can down the road – that’s what caused these problems in the first place.  We must find balanced solutions that include shared sacrifice to make sure our government lives within its means and puts our economy in a better position for the future.  A deal has to be struck before August 2^nd so that America does not default on its obligations. Never before has America defaulted on its obligations, and to do so now would be catastrophic to our cities, our economy and our financial system.

 If we default on our obligations it will:

• Force the government to stop, limit, or delay payments on a variety of legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, salaries for the military, tax refunds, and interest on the national debt.
• Cause interest rates for mortgages, car loans, and credit cards to rise.
• Hurt families who have been saving money into their 401(k)s for their retirement or putting aside money for their children’s education.

Achieving comprehensive health reform has emerged as a leading priority of the President and Congress.  This summary of Senate Finance Committee America's Healthy Future Act of 2009, the Senate HELP Committee Affordable Health Choices Act and the House Tri-Committee America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (H.R. 3200) describes the key components of these leading health reform proposals.  The House Tri-Committee summary incorporates the major amendments to the legislation adopted by the three committees of jurisdiction during their mark-ups of the bill.  These amendments are identified using an abbreviation for the House panel that approved it-"E&C" for the Committee on Energy and Commerce; "E&L" for the Committee on Education and Labor; and "W&M" for the Committee on Ways and Means.

Click here for the summaries of each Health Care Reform Proposal